Our Board
Karleen R. Habin, RN, MSN, CNS
President, Chair and Co-Founder
Affiliations: Massachusetts General Hospital
Karleen has more than 30 years of nursing experience, ranging from Critical Care, Women's Health and Oncology Clinical Research Nursing Administration. Karleen held the position as Associate Director of Research Nursing and Research Nurse Specialist at the Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Institute in Boston, retiring in 2025. Karleen has published extensively and was the co-author of the first state wide Breast Cancer Resource Guide of Massachusetts. Karleen has won several prestigious awards including the American Cancer Society Lane Adams Award and the Massachusetts General Hospital "The 100" Award. Karleen, through her personal and professional experiences strives to improve the quality of patients and families’ lives during the prevention and cancer experience.
Mary Lou Woodford, BSN, RN, MBA, CCM
Treasurer, Co-Founder
Affiliations: Northeastern University
Mary Lou brings more than 30 years of clinical and public health experience to the foundation. After 15 years as the Director of Women's Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Ms Woodford partnered with Ms Habin to form the Cancer Resource Foundation. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the University of Connecticut and her Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. She is a CCM certified case manager who began working in public health after 10 years in the hospital setting.
As a nurse, case manager and experienced public health professional working with underserved diverse populations, she witnessed the extraordinary challenges that individuals face trying to coordinate their healthcare needs. It is this reason that she has devoted her career to helping others gain access to the many products and services that they need to reach a healthy active life.
Kathryn E Post, PhD, MS, APRN-BC
Board Member
Co-Director, Reich Oncology Nurse Fellowship, Nurse Practitioner/APP Scholar, Medical Oncology Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Kathryn has specialized in breast oncology since her entry into the nursing profession. She has worked as a Nurse Practitioner in breast oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston since 2007. In her tenure there she has worked both as a Clinical Research Nurse Practitioner and a Medical Oncology Nurse Practitioner. She received a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Nutrition from the University of Connecticut in 2002. She received her Masters Degree in Nursing from Boston College in 2007. She has been mentoring Boston College graduate nursing students since 2008. Kathryn completed her doctoral studies at BC and is currently a PhD at Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Institute. Kathryn holds an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard University. She has published on the breast cancer and oncology patient experience. She lectures frequently on related topics both at Massachusetts General Hospital and in the community. She strongly believes in the CRF’s mission and strives daily to improve the lives of oncology patients and their families.
Laura Spring, MD
Board Member
Vice Chair, Network Strategy Operations: Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Spring is a clinical/translational investigator and breast medical oncologist at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She also serves as the vice chair of network strategy and operations for hematology/oncology. Dr. Spring received her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed residency in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital followed by fellowship training in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.
The primary focus of Dr. Spring’s research is to develop novel therapeutic and biomarker strategies to improve the care of patients with breast cancer. She is involved with the design and conduct of several clinical trials for localized and metastatic breast cancer. Much of her research focuses on the use of novel therapies in the neoadjuvant (pre-surgical) setting.
Elizabeth Abraham, MSN, RN
Board Member
Senior Oncology Research Nurse Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center Institute
Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Education, May 2026
Elizabeth Abraham, RN, BSN, is an oncology nurse with more than two decades of experience caring for individuals and families navigating cancer. She currently works as an Oncology Clinical Research Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where her passion for compassionate, patient-centered care continues to shape her work.
Throughout her career, Elizabeth has been inspired by the resilience of her patients and the importance of caring for the whole person—not simply treating the cancer. This has led to a growing passion for lifestyle medicine and its role in oncology care. She believes that evidence-based education around nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, and overall well-being should be an integral part of cancer care and accessible to every oncology patient
Elizabeth completed her Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Education in May 2026, furthering her commitment to nursing education, leadership, and empowering nurses to provide holistic, evidence-based care.
Outside of her professional life, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family, reading, swimming, biking, and hiking. She brings that same belief in balance, connection, and well-being into both her personal life and her work with patients and fellow nurses.
Fernando Ponce, MD
Board Member
Dr. Ponce is a graduate of the University of San Carlos Guatemala. He conducted his Residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical. He practiced Emergency Medicine for over 30 years, at North Adams Regional Hospital and at Berkshire Medical Center until 2023 when he retired from Emergency Medicine. He currently serves his community at the Berkshire Medical Center Wound Clinic. He is a former Medical Staff President at North Adams Regional Hospital. His main interests are his community, family and experiencing outdoor nature.
Kristen Shannon, MS, CGC
Board Member
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Manager of Counseling Policy and Strategy Manager
Professor of Genetic Counseling at the MGH Institute of Health Professions
Kristen Mahoney Shannon, MS, CGC, is a genetic counselor with nearly 30 years of experience helping individuals and families understand hereditary cancer risk and access to genetic services. She has led cancer genetic counseling at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she helped build a multidisciplinary program serving patients across a wide range of cancer specialties. Kristen is also a Professor of Genetic Counseling at the MGH Institute of Health Professions and serves in national professional and advocacy roles focused on improving access to genetic counseling. She will join Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in November 2026 as Genetic Counseling Policy and Strategy Manager. She is pleased to bring her clinical and leadership experience to Cancer1Source’s work supporting people affected by cancer.
Janet McGrail-Spillane, RN, BSN
Board Member
Affiliation: Massachusetts Department of Public Heatlh
Janet McGrail-Spillane works at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) as a Health Systems Specialist. Prior to working at the DPH worked at the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) as the State Vice President for Health Initiatives for twelve years. She provided leadership and direction for the implementation of all ACS cancer programs and services in Massachusetts. Prior to ACS, Ms. Spillane worked for the City of Boston in various capacities including; the Deputy Commissioner of Elderly Commission, Director of Elder Health and the Director of Cancer Prevention and Detection. Janet has served as Chief Operating Officer for Global Health Services, a company specializing in patient services for International clients. Until recently, Janet was an advisor for the Massachusetts State Tumor Registry, Dana Farber Community Advisory Board and the Hyde Park Lions. For fifteen years, she was a member of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Cancer Coalition. and on the Board of Directors of the Brigham/Faulkner Hospital. Janet resides in Boston with her husband, Matthew and is the proud mother of three grown sons.
